A sprinkle of Pepper
by pepperonylove
Summary: Tony cannot exist without Pepper. There isn't a single minute that passed by that he didn't think of her. Even when the world is compromised,and he needs to play hero again, she's all he could think of. He always puts her on top of his list. Basically, missing Pepperony scenes in AOU. There should always be a sprinkle of Pepper in MCU! PEPPERONY LOVE!
1. Chapter 1

**Hey there! This is a product of re-watching AOU, with a bit of conversation with Pepperonyaddict (thanks dear, you have quite a handful of ideas), coupled with utter disappointment for lack of Pepperony scenes. Though, there are Pepper mentions- thank God for that, but still they are not enough. Who else noticed Tony's melancholiness in the party scene? He's unusually quiet right?and sad when he was asked about Pepper? Well, you may or may not agree with me. But I just want to give this a shot. Hopefully, you won't get confused with all the flashbacks/more of Tony's memories. Lol.**

 **I own nothing. Spoilers for AOU. Not quite sure of the lines. So sorry in advance for the mistakes and typos. No beta here! Reviews are very much welcomed with open arms! Lol.**

Tony looked around the party, a glass of wine in hand, and surveyed the many people that surround him. He saw Steve with his Falcon friend. Thor and Clint are chatting up a bunch of unfamiliar ladies. Natasha and Rhodey are lounging in the sofa,clearly talking about some war machine stuffs-to Tony, definitely not interesting. He smirked, thinking of how excited and focused Rhodey is in doing war machine missions.

'Yeah.' He used to be like that. How he missed to revel on the feeling of flying in the suit. Always looking for andrenaline rush. He suddenly felt nostalgic. Remembering the moments he tried to steer away from raging bullets and angry tanks; missiles and F1 raptors on his tail and killing a bunch of good for nothing terrorists.

He heavily sighed. People really changed, he guessed. From women and fancy cars to being a member of a super secret band of superheroes to being a family man.

'Hmmm. Family man? Tony Stark?' He grinned. He still feels like floating in the air whenever he thought of how Pepper broke the news to him or how a night suddenly changed his life.

 _It was an ordinary day in the Stark mansion. Their newly rebuilt house, also in the cliff side overlooking the expanse of Pacific ocean, is very much a Potts-Stark creation. Their tastes blended well, with a couple of original designs from the old one, a touch of class and elegance courtesy of Pepper, not to mention the many modern art pieces scattered around the house._

 _Tony was busy tinkering in his workshop, he almost forgot the time, and smiled to himself when he saw that it's just past 4. He still have an hour to shower before Pepper arrives. It's date night and this time he very much planned out everything. He already made reservations for Pepper's fave Italian restaurant. And then afterwards, he'll ask her if they could relax a bit and walk along the beach coast because there awaits the surprise. This will not be just an ordinary date night. He will make sure of that._

 _"J, Pepper's ETA please," he said while wiping some grease off his hands. He's been giddy and anxious all day that he had to redo the work he already done in the hotrod to distract himself. He just needed it before the fear he felt eat him up. Unfortunately, now that it's nearing the moment of truth, he suddenly felt nervous and something else he can't quite name. He already asked Jarvis of the odds that his surprise won't go according to plan. And luckily, the AI was positive it could go well. Not that he thinks that Jarvis is always right- he made the damn AI,thank you very much- but still he knows in his heart that no matter what happens, what he's about to do is by all means right._

 _"Sir, Ms. Potts is on her way. ETA is in 15 mins." Jarvis remarked cooly._

 _"What? Already? I mean isn't it too early for her to leave the office? Unless, something is wrong or she's not feeling well." He's panicking. He's already thinking of rearranging all the things and cancelling out reservations._

 _"Perhaps, Sir, you should just take a bath first. Ms. Potts generally dislikes filthiness in the house, especially one that concerns you." If Jarvis has a face, he would want to give his creator a smug look. If he was not coded to be appropriate all the time, he would have remarked that his master is just overreacting._

 _"Yes. You're right. Thanks, J." Tony distractedly answered, not even noticing the smug tone of his AI._

 _Tony showered as fast as he could and as the grease in his body would permit. He cleaned well, even managed to trim his goatee and dress in a matter of time. He just opted to wear a long sleeve matched with a coat, ditching the ever present tie._

 _"Tony." He heard Pepper called from the door of their room. He's not quite sure if it's her tired tone or exasperated tone. But he thought, he has not done anything to exasperate her, as far as he knows._

 _"Hey there, gorgeous." He greeted her from the bathroom. She took in his appearance and raised a brow._

 _"What? Do I look devilishly handsome?" He grinned while pumping his brows up and down._

 _"Well, you look the same as always, Mr. Stark." She quipped, motioning for the walk-in closet. He closely followed behind her, leaned on the frame, and waited for her to take off her clothes. This is one of his favorite things in the world- watching her undress and dress. It fascinates him how graceful and elegant she could be even in the simplest things like taking off her suits and changing into one of his shirts._

 _"And what is that look exactly, Ms. Potts?" He asked, not wanting to steer away from the topic at hand, while very much focused on her every movement._

 _"The look of utter narcissism." She said in a serious tone. Like she's saying some final point on some business presentation ._

 _"Ha,ha,ha. Funny, Potts." He said, amusement etched on his face. "Well, whatever, I know you think of me as some God-sent gift to the female populace," he said with air of arrogance._

 _"Whatever strokes your ego Stark," she fired back._

 _"Hmm. Well, it's not just my ego which needs some stroking." He suggested, while walking to her._

 _He slowly ran his hands across her waist, hugging her from behind. He kissed her neck softly while caressing the underside of her breast._

 _"Hmmm. Tony," she moans, what this man can do with his hands and lips should really be illegal._

 _He continued on pressing some featherlight kisses on her neck, not wanting to stop._

 _"If you continue this, we won't make it to our reservation," she said, struggling to be eloquent._

 _"Hmmm. Still early," he murmured across her skin._

 _"Tony," she said, this time with much control._

 _As much as he wants to take it further, Tony thought better of it and decided to just stop whatever he's doing. 'Right, this is the night. You can't screw up, Tony.' He reprimanded himself, he should think clear of his goals. The urges can wait for later._

 _"Fine. I will wait for you in the garage." He muttered like a child deprive of his favorite toy._

 _"You better be good while waiting," she said coyly and looked down at his crotch. He looked down too and saw his ever growing erection. He suddenly leaped out of the room, while Pepper is laughing her heart out._

 _"You wait woman. I will make you beg later." He shouted from the hall and grinned to himself. 'Later'_

 _The dinner went on without a fuzz. They ate, they chatted about everything and anything, they laughed at their jokes and they murmured sweet nothings to each other. It was as normal as their other date nights that Tony almost forgot his nervousness._

 _"Uh. Pep, let's not go home yet. Let's stroll down in the beach, take in the cold breeze, and you know, just enjoy a nice little quite time." He suggested, a little unsure of himself._

 _"That would be lovely, Tony," she said and kissed him gently on the lips. A kiss from her could really send jolts to his body._

 _They were already at the beach, casually strolling, with Tony's arm securely placed on Pepper's waist._

 _"It's really a great night, right?" He remarked._

 _"Yes, it is. How I wish we could always do this." She sighed. "I mean, this is really nice. Casually strolling like some normal couple." She emphasized the word 'normal' with a roll of her eyes._

 _"What? This is normal?" He teased and kissed her soundly on the lips. He looked at his watch, noting the time and realized they are a little early for his surprise. He suddenly remembered the reason for this hiccup. "Wait, honey, why did you go home a little early than usual?" He inquired out of curiosity and just to pass time._

 _"I just felt like going home, I guess." She said while looking down and playing with some sand in her foot as she already ditched her stilletos._

 _"Really? The ever consummate professional Ms. Potts, not finishing work hours?" He teased. "Really?" He dramatically said._

 _"Well, yes, I do believe, Mr. Stark, that I'm allowed to leave the office anytime because I, as you always point out," she paused, "Am the boss." She smiled the smile that could make his heart stopped. He can't thing of a good comeback, so he just did what he always wants to do. Kiss her entirely, like his life is depended on it. Like there's no tomorrow. His heart was pulling double duty, he can't focus on the task at hand-that is his 'surprise', he's trying to keep the blood circulating in his brain just enough as it seems to drain to his groin. Despite his growing need, he stopped, and looked at his watch, 'It's time.'_

 _"Hmmm. Why do you keep on glancing on your watch?" She inquired while she tipped her head in that sexy way that slayed him._

 _Instead of answering, he took her hands and quietly led her to the right spot._  
 _'This shall do just fine.' He released a puff of air, and took her hands to his lips._

 _"Tony," she said, and scanned his gaze._

 _"Pep, honey, I know I don't deserve you. I can be selfish, self-absorbed, egotistical, sometimes a lunatic jerk, and I can't..." He sighed. "You deserve more than I can give you."_

 _Pepper stared at him-stunned and uncomprehending. "Tony," she whispered._

 _"I mean, I clearly love you more than anything...else in the world but, ah, I still manage to screw up," he stammered._

 _He stared at her and continued, "But honey, I can't just let you go. I can't.. for the love of God, just let you be with a man who clearly deserves you or worthy of how perfect you are..."_

 _Pepper just stared at him during his speech, as if searching for the right way to respond._

 _"What I want to say is.." He suddenly looked at the expanse of the sea, and smiled brightly at her._

 _She looked up, and saw a hint of lights, it grew larger by the second and definitely looked like as far as she could tell are Ironman suits._

 _"Is that? Are those?" She inquired with creased brows._

 _"Yep," he said while smirking, remembering t_ _he same wordsh e heard from Rhodey. He turned her so that she's completely facing the horizon._

 _The suits lined up around them making a V pattern in the sky. Then one by one the suits exploded into colorful lights. Different patterns were created. And then suddenly, they merged to form the words :_

 _I LOVE U VIRGINIA_

 _Then the words suddenly became a huge heart that turned into something that resembles the arc reactor. The transition of red light to blue ones was so perfect it almost made her heart stopped. She was so elated and surprised to see what Tony's been up to. She gasped, wide eyed when she saw another set of words in the sky._

 _WILL YOU MARRY ME?_

 _Pepper held her breath, not believing the words displayed in the sky, she's so engrossed in the moment that she didn't notice Tony kneeling in front of her. He's holding out a box and inside sits a diamond ring that shone through the night, as if luring her, with all it's elegance and simplicity._

 _"Virginia Potts, I love you so much. Will you make me the happiest man alive, will you marry me?" He said with so much adoration and love. He thinks his heart can't take all this overloading and overflowing love he feels for this woman and anytime now, if she won't say a word, he thinks he might faint._

 _"Tony, I," she said as intelligible as she could, "Wow, I can't believe..."_

 _"Honey, you could just say Yes you know," he suggested nervously. He's still kneeling with his hands holding on to the box._

 _Tears started flowing out of her eyes, and she managed to murmur, "YES, I'll marry You Anthony Edward Stark."_

 _He kissed the ring before slipping it into her finger. He stood up and hugged her tightly as he could like he's afraid she'll change her mind. She was slightly startled at the sound of firecrackers. She looked up to see the suits flying around and exploding again one by one. It's like the same scene in Miami._

 _"Okay so far? You like it?" he murmured between her hair._

 _"It'll do," she said amusedly,clearly playing along with him. He kissed her hair gently, reveling on the moment._

His reverie was lost when he suddenly heard a loud crash.

"Jarvis?" He instinctively checked on his ever loyal AI, he's on monitoring duty since the tower is filled with guests-most of whom he didn't know.

"It's just Dr. Banner Sir, bumping on the servings of drinks," he remarked cooly.

"Hmmm. Remind me to strap Banner on our next party, J. He's already broken so much." He smiled, shook his head and sipped a wine.

"Will do, Sir," Jarvis replied from his earpiece.

No matter what he does he just can't let himself enjoy the night. Not that he didn't want the company of his fellow Avengers, it's just that he really felt incomplete whenever Pepper is not around. How he missed her so much. And not to mention baby Stark. He smiled again to himself, thinking of just proceeding with his interrupted recollection.

 _After their beach moment, they went home eagerly with some groping and making out in the car-well, if making out means stopping every now and then to accomodate some kissing and necking. Yeah, they really do make out. And then when they got home-_ Tony stopped his thoughts.

'Can't think of how that night was blissfully spent without having a hard-on.'

He laughed at his incorrigibleness. He just wanted to recall how Pepper accidentally told him the news. He could never forget the look on her face.

 _After their intense lovemaking, celebrating their relationship level upgrade, as Tony put it, they both let exhaustion and sleep take over them. But Tony's member had other plans than just sleeping off the night away. He woke up with a start, feeling his blood rushed southward. He immediately looked at the sleeping figure of his fiance. Her back was against him, and he could clearly see her entire sexy back down to her butt._

 _He proceeded with kissing her neck while running his hands up and down from her shoulder to her waist. He lifted his body with his right arms so he could properly kiss her neck. He sucked on her collarbone while massaging a breast. Pepper stirred, but still looked very much in dreamland. Tony just proceeded with his task, and grind his hips up to her bare back._

 _"Tony," she whispered, still with her eyes closed._

 _"Hmmmm," he hummed in reply not wanting to remove his focus on the task at hand._

 _"'I'm sleeping," she murmured, while trying to make some space, and move away from him as possible._

 _"Need you. Badly." He said in his throaty voice while hovering above her so he could see her face._

 _"It's past midnight. I need to sleep." She said in the exasperated tone he loves._

 _"I know. We're awake now, honey." He kissed her face, his hand moving downward._

 _"Tony, I need to have a decent sleep. It's not good for PREGNANT women to be awake in the middle of the night, and I will just get tired in the morning, and the morning sickness is killing me, and I just can't..." She suddenly stopped, eyes wide opened, complete utter shock on her face._

 _"Oh my God." She covered her face with her hands. During all of Pepper's babbling and the sudden revelation, Tony was too stunned to react initially but when she suddenly looked so surprised with her slip, he finally got hold of his emotions and wished Jarvis caught this on tape. It was priceless. It's the look only Pepper could nail._

 _"Honey, hey, hey relax." He said softly, while running his hands on her arms._

 _"Tony! I was suppossed to surprise you later, and Jarvis and I already planned it, and..." she cried._

 _"So, you're really pregnant?" He needed to be sure, to hear the words on her calm and awake state._

 _She nodded, not looking at him. He was already completely on top of her. He reached out to her chin, and gently lift it so she could look him in the eyes._

 _"So, you're gonna surprise me too, huh?" He grinned, utter happiness in his face._

 _"Yes, and I'm so stupid. I just let that..." He kissed her hard to stop her babbling. The kiss deepened, with Pepper responding as much as Tony was giving. They only stopped to accomodate brreathing._

 _"Thank You." He said happily and rested his forehead against hers._

 _"I know this is not planned and all..."_

 _"Pepper," he cut her off. "I love you, you love me, you just agreed to marry me, and we're having a baby." He enumerated like his enumerating some parts of his machine. "And not to mention, that I love you so much, wait, have I mentioned it already? That I love you so damn much? Hmmmm?" He teased._

 _"Tony," she said with a sigh._

 _"I want this, Pep. For a long time now actually. I'm just waiting for you to be ready. Or shoulld I say, I was waiting for the right time." He suddenly felt insecure. He knew very well how he does not deserve her. She's Virginia Potts, CEO of Stark Industries, Most Powerful Woman in the World. And she's kind, honest, witty, smart, independent and downright gorgeous. Any man would have wanted to be in his place, to be with this woman. She's the woman of every man's dream. Hell, she's been the woman of his dreams eversince he saw her. And now, he just can't wrapp this whole thing on his mind-not that he didn't want this but the truth is, he wanted this so damn much that he's afraid it will be taken away from him._

 _"Anthony, I love you so much. And You. Deserve. To. Be. Happy." She punctuated everyword with a kiss. He smiled that smile he reserves only for her._

 _"I love you more," he said._ _He does not need to hear more. She is his. And they will be happy._

He did not notice how he got surrounded by Hill, Rhodey and Thor. Rhodey was incessantly babbling about his war machine escapades. He just stared at him like his growing another head, and he knows the melancholy on his face is still evident. He just wanted to get over and done with this party to get to Pepper.

"BOOOM, are you looking for this...why aren't you even talking, man?!" Rhodey incredulously asked them. Tony still holds the same expression but smiling a little bit at his friend. Thor replied in a patronizing way, and this could have been a good moment to tease back his good old friend. But still, he wasn't in the mood.

Rhodey suddenly looked at him and asked, "So, No Pepper?"

This got Tony's attention. And he just slightly shook his head. And heard Hill made a comment about the ladies missing out on the fun.

"Ms. Potts has a company to run," he said, smiling sadly, but trying to look as casual as possible. Rhodey must have caught on his unusual quietness and knew very well that it has something to do with Pepper. He didn't quite understand what Thor replied but he just heard enough to say that he's boasting about Jane.

He decided to play along. "The company that Pepper runs is the largest technological bubble on earth, very exciting." He just needed the distraction. Thor said something about nobel prizes or what country his girlfriend is in and other things that do not really concern him.

He just let Thor glorified his girl and let the two walk away from them.

"Jane's better." Thor arrogantly said. If it was a normal day for Tony, he would have made a comeback, a punchline, an ending statement to prove that Pepper's not just better but the best of the best. But he knows there's something else entirely that's been eating him up, and he can't quite define what it is exactly.

'Is there a pending doom to come? Or another alien coming out of wormholes?'

 **So? What do you think? Hmmmm okay or hmmmmm not okay? Lol. PEPPERONY FOREVER!**


	2. Chapter 2

**This is me again desperately trying to get a sprinkle of Pepper in AOU. Sigh. Hope you could be with me in this journey of loneliness** **, as I try and make out some Pepperony sense in AOU. I know we are all hoping and wishing for some Pepperony scenes.**

 **All mistakes are mine. Lines and scenes from AOU may not be that accurate, so Sorry in advance but the overall thought is there, I guess. Lol. No beta. Please be gentle! :) PEPPERONY FOREVER.**

Tony was once again left with his thoughts. Thor just disappeared in the crowd. _Good thing._ He didn't want to hear anymore of his bragging. He wanted to tell him that his girl would not accomplish what Pepper could at the moment- that is, carry a child while single handedly managing a bunch of crazy chinese businessmen and running a multibillion dollar company. He smirked. Imagining Pepper outmanuevered the board members with a big rounded belly. Sexy, pregnant CEO Pepper. 'Wow. What a sight.' He can't wait till her belly swells and the bump shows. He knew very well that she'll be a great mom. Hell, she's been mothering him for more than a decade now. And she's been very good in taking care of others, what more if it's their children she has to take care of. 'Children? Really Tony?' He's really surprised at how he changed so much since Ironman, and being with Pepper. He needed to discuss the 'children' first with her as he won't be the one to carry them and squeeze them out of his hole. He shook his head, and grinned at his thoughts.

He just needs to wrap this party up, check the progress of his project and hopefully, fly to China to be with his Pepper. It's a pretty simple checklist, but still he can't shake off the feeling of uneasiness and something else entirely. Is this because of what he saw? Clearly, the witch played with his mind, but is there something more to it than just a silly little mind trick? He tried so hard to get the scenes off his mind. Surely, he's been over New York and his panic attacks, but still, he can't help the chill run down his spine whenever he gets to see a wormhole with a bunch of aliens. What if he didn't go with them to Russia to retrieve Loki's scepter? What if he just went to China with Pepper like he's supposed to? They are in the middle of business contracts and negotiations for the building of another Stark Tower in China. It's definitely a huge project that he worries so much about Pepper tiring herself up. He should have been there. But still, being Iron Man prevailed, with a heavy heart he let Pepper go alone. Well technically, she's not really alone as she's with one heck of a security team, Happy and Ironman suits hovering above them-this Pepper does not know. He's been overly protective of her since the Mandarin, and he swore he won't let her alone, unguarded ever again. So, she went to China with a promise of not working herself too much while he went to Russia with a promise of getting back in one piece,alive. He's done his promise, he's alive but a little troubled with lots of visions of deaths and aliens. How he wished they could just send someone else to do the dirty jobs for them. Not that he thinks that saving the world is a bad thing, it's actually his biggest accomplishment, one that he would tell his children about, but he's just not sure that if the next big thing happens, they are all prepared and ready to fight.

 _Ultron_. The project he's been discussing with Bruce. And the only thing he's been doing for the past three days. This is what he needs, what they need. He will be able to cut off his time being Ironman. He hated going away on missions especially now with Pepper's condition. But still Iroman has responsibilities. Not because he decided to not play hero anymore and be the doting husband/father does not mean he'll just let the world alone with all its vulnerabilities. They needed an option. So,they could still keep the peace they all wanted but still get a life of their own.

"Tony!" He heard Rhodey calling him as he approached him.

"Hey, what's going on with you? Are you okay?" He asked, concern etched on his face.

"Why do you ask?" Tony casually countered. But he knows very well he's a little out of his game. He throws the party after all, and he's not being a gracious host.

"Well, for one, you have all the opportunities a while ago to crush my ego and my blabbering about War Machine, but no, no witty come back. And man, you really looked..." he thought for a moment. "Sad or should I say, distracted." He knew Rhodey would notice, obviously, since he's known him more than anyone in the room.

"I'm fine, Platypus. Just a little homesick," he stated. He knows Rhodey would get that homesick is equivalent to missing Pepper. Home to Tony is where Pepper is.

"Oh come on man, cheer up. Don't you miss this kind of party, old man," he jested and punched him lightly on the shoulder. Tony just raised a brow and smirked at him.

"Come on, let's just join the others, so you could share more of your war machine tales." He said, deciding to just get on with the party, and let himself celebrate with his team.

"Now we're talking." Rhodey happily exclaimed as he followed Tony.

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The rest of the guests were all gone. They were lounging in the couch when Barton decided to jest about Thor's hammer. Thor's clearly enjoying their predicament on how his hammer can be lifted.

Tony watched as Barton tried first, to no avail, he failed. He decided to play along and teased Barton for not being able to do it.

"Please, Stark," Barton gestured at him, "by all means." Challenging him to lift the hammer himself.

He stood up, exuding confidence and being his usual arrogant self. "Never one to shrink from an honest challenge," he said and motioning for the hammer. "It's Physics." He position himself to the hammer, trying to find the best grip.

"If I lift it, I could then rule Asgard?" He asked Thor. Everyone's clearly enjoying his jests.

"Sure, ofcourse," Thor replied casually. The others are just smirking and waiting for him to fail.

He tried lifting it up, but still nothing. He thought of getting the suit, "I'll be right back." He returned with his gauntlet, lifting the hammer with all its arc reactor power, he even asked Rhodey to help him. But ofcourse, the damn hammer would just not budge. He was happy to be distracted from his thoughts, this is what he needs, a moment of escape and later on, when the party ends, he'll check on Ultron, and fly to Pepper.

Banner tried and even joked about hulk-ing up. 'God, this guy really has a bad timing,' he thought, smirking at him. Steve was the last one to try, and he's really sure he saw the hammer budge a bit. He looked at Thor immediately, and from the look on his face, he clearly saw it too. Still, Steve was not able to lift it, and Thor just laughed nervously. 'Hmmm. Close one, God of thunder,' he thought.

"Who shall carry Thor's fingerprint is the literal translation of him." He suggested, still wanting to be distracted and play along. Thor stood up, "It's a very very interesting theory, but the central one is, " he lifted up the hammer in the air, "YOU'RE ALL NOT WORTHY."

They all let out sounds of disapproval and laughed at each other. And then suddenly, a loud piercing static noise filled the tower.

He immediately checked on Jarvis. "J?" He asked his AI, but he didn't respond. Steve is looking at him with questioning gaze and then suddenly a suit appeared before them. It's a mangled one, definitely looked like one of his Iron Legions. He checked on his device, still nothing appeared.

"How could you be worthy? You're all killers," the robotic voice echoed in his ears. 'Who's controlling this?' There must be someone else interfering with his system. He can't access Jarvis, he can't control the central system. He suddenly felt the jittery feeling of nervousness in his stomach.

"Stark." Steve said, clearly asking him to stop this nonsense.

"Jarvis." He called his AI, and got no response from him.

The mangled suit continued on with his rambling about noises, strings, and killing the other guy. 'Who could that be?' He checked again with Jarvis,still nothing.

"You killed someone?" He heard Steve asking.

"Would not have been my first call but down in the real world we're left with ugly choices."

"Who sent you," Thor's booming voice suddenly snapped him back, he's so lost in calculating the odds of having a boogey in his system or a technical glitch that would cause this.

 ** _'I see a suit of armor around the world_**.' He remembered saying that to Bruce when they were arguing about the project.

"Ultron!" Bruce said while looking at him. He frowned. 'How could this happen.'

"In the flesh." The robotic voice boomed. "Oh no, not yet. Not this useless..."he added. "But I'm ready, I'm on a mission."

"What mission?" Bruce asked. He saw Thor gripping his hammer tightly, Hill readying her gun, and the rest are clearly on alert mode.

"Peace in our time!" Ultron exclaimed, then suddenly the Iron Legions are attacking them. He can't summon his suit, as Jarvis is his main link to it. Guess, he just needed to fight them the best way he could. As he jumped on one of the suits, he thought that good thing Pepper's not in the tower. 'She's safe in China, Tony. Focus.' He's able to shutdown the suit as the last one was destroyed by Steve's shield.

He's panting, and still not believing what just happened while Ultron keeps on rambling about them protecting the world but not wanting it to change and all his craps that he's having a hard time comprehending.

"There's only one path to peace, The Avengers Extinction." He said before Thor's hammer smashed his already mangled suit.

'Oh God, this is not good.' Tony thought grimly.

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He's trying to wrap his brain around the truth that he made Ultron. He made the robot that tried to kill them. He stared at his destroyed suits, lost in thought but still he could clearly hear what his teammates are discussing about. Surely, they will blame him. Who's to blame than the one who created it?

All the files are gone, all data are wiped out. Natasha was right. Ultron probably knows each one of them more than they know each other. He heard Rhodey saying something about Ultron accessing something more exciting. For Rhodey, Tony knew, it's definitely something about the government files, and yeah, nuclear codes and the likes. Rhodey would definitely think first of the government as he will always be the ever faithful soldier. He, on the other hand, could not care less about what government files Ultron could access, as long his prevented from doing harm to people. Besides, he's been specific in what he wants to do-that is, the Avengers extinction. But still, the fact remains that he knows information about them. He will surely see the life they have. He will see that he has Pepper. He has someone he could hurt and use against him. 'Oh God, not Pepper.'

He heard Clint asking about the guy Ultron killed since there was no one else around the tower. He decided to join in the conversation, as he still can't accept the fact that Jarvis was destroyed.

Banner looked shocked at his announcement. Jarvis is their first line of defense. He would definitely try everything to stop it and he must have put up a fight against Ultron that clearly led to his destruction. He can't mourn the loss of his AI as of the moment as they still have a lot of things to figure out.

And then suddenly, Thor came marching in, gripped him in the neck, lifted him up just like what Loki did to him. 'What's with this Asgardian gods and gripping necks.' He can't just choke the life out of him and not say anything.

"Come on use your words, buddy." He still managed to gibe.

"I have more than enough words to describe you Stark." Thor remarked, rage evident in his grip.

He heard them stopping Thor from sucking the life out of him. 'Oh man, he really is a god.' He's tempted to quip that Thor should spare him for the love of his unborn child, he doesn't want his child to grow up without a father. Before he could even say a thing, Thor released his grip. Steve asked him of the legionaire who fled and unfortunately, it has the scepter.

"I don't understand. You build this program?" Dr. Helen Choi suddenly spoke, "why is it trying to kill us?"

'Why?' 'If I knew already, we'll not be just chatting up here,' he thought. The very thing he created to help them save the world is now trying to kill them and probably destroy the world. The irony is so terrible, he suddenly had the urge to laugh. He could see Bruce at the corner of his eyes, shaking his head, obviously trying to stop him from laughing or whatever he has in mind.

"Do you think this is funny?" Thor impatiently said.

"No...It's probably, not, right?" He said still laughing. "Cause this is really terrible. This is so terrible."

"This could have been avoided if you hadn't played with something you don't understand," Thor countered, clearly pissed at having to retrieve the scepter again.

"No..," he stopped Thor from speaking, "I'm sorry. It's CRUDE.. But you don't get why we need this," he said with certitude.

"Toooonyyy, this might not be the right time..." He heard Bruce who is slightly squirming and clearly not on his side.

"Really?" This time he turned to Bruce. "You just roll over, show your belly, everytime somebody snarls." He said mockingly. He can't help but feel alone in this battle. Maybe, they can never understand why they need this, not even Bruce.

"Not when I created a murder Bot," Bruce reasoned out.

"We didn't!" He's damn sure they did not. "Are we even close to an interface?"

He stopped his rambling when Steve butts in. He may act arrogantly, acting as if he does not listen to anyone, but still he could be a good follower especially on grounds he's not really an expert in. He could very well say that when it comes to war and strategy, he would listen to Rogers.

But he still have to make them realize why they need it, why he did what he did. It's like New York over again, it's like being in his suit flying into that portal, feeling as hopeless as ever, not knowing if he'll ever live to see their victory, or see Pepper again.

They are the Avengers. Surely, they could bust anyone who gets in their way. But out there in the vast universe, aliens and everything unknown to men exist, and they need to be prepared for that. He went on talking about that drama of his, flying into that wormhole with a nuke on his back. He still managed to appear as arrogant and egocentric as ever, but deep inside he's so scared as hell for the many possiblities that Ultron could do. All he wanted is make them see what he saw.

They need to act fast. Steve wanted to get ahead of the game before Ultron does something irrepairable.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Everyone began doing what they need to do: check on files, find traces of Ultron, alert who needs to be alerted. But to Tony, the first thing he has to do before everything else is secure Pepper.

"Hogan." Happy answered in the most formal tone as the number he used is a secure one and will not register as his in Happy's phone.

"Happy, it's Tony," he replied in a bit.

"Hey Tony. If you call to ask how the lady boss is doing," he paused, he could imagine him rolling his eyes, "she's, as usual, working, and I cannot stop her from doing what she came for in China. Ofcourse, I can't argue with that, right? She's really here for work, so.." Happy rambled, not knowing how distress Tony is.

"Happy, stop. Listen to me," he said abruptly, clearly losing his patience.

"What's wrong, Tony," the ever faithful body guard said, after years of knowing him, he could easily tell in his tone if there's trouble ahead.

"I need to execute protocol SPICE," he said in a grave tone.

"Uh," Happy was too stunned to speak, but nonetheless he got his grip and replied, "Okay, Boss. Copy. Will execute protocol SPICE immediately."

"Thanks Hap. I already managed to link the server to your tablet, in case of unwanted glitch, so you could interfere anytime."

"Okay, Tony." He sighed. "But can I know what's going on?" He asked with uncertainty. Happy knows that there are things he's not supposed to ask but he just can't fulfill his duties without some piece of information.

"There are minor problems. I mean, a robot gone rogue. I'm not sure if it will try and get to Pepper. But we're already finding him."

"Can I tell Pepper?" He knew how stubborn Pepper is, if she's aware maybe she won't put up a fight with all this overprotectiveness.

"I'll call her," he said with a heavy sigh.

"Okay. I'll gather the men."

"Thanks, Hap. I know I could count on you," he said with gratitude he seldom shows, but deep inside he always keep in mind how lucky he is to find a very loyal and trustworthy friend.

"You know, I will do everything in my life to protect them," he said not missing a beat.

"I know. Thank You."

"Yeah. Just call her. Bye."

He sighed again. Just one more call, and he could join the rest of the team in their brainstorming. He does not know how he could tell her of the sudden shift of events without worrying her. Stress is the last thing she needs. And he cannot worry her so much as it will not do any good for her condition. He will never, ever forgive himself if anything happens to her and Baby Stark.

'Oh God, Just let her be safe.' And then reluctantly he dialed her number. Praying to all that is holy that his call will not be their last conversation.


End file.
